OC Woman Rescued After Being Kidnapped in Uganda

Police in Uganda say they have rescued an Orange County woman who was kidnapped. Rick Montanez reports for NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on April 7, 2019. (Published Sunday, April 7, 2019)

Kimberley Endicott, the woman from Costa Mesa, California, who had been kidnapped in Uganda, has been located and freed along with her driver, a top Ugandan military official told NBC News.

They were found around Ishasha on the Ugandan-DRC border and are currently in the care of the police and being interviewed. The two "are in good health" and "in the safe hands" of security officials, police said in a Twitter update.

Endicott was expected to be turned over to the U.S. Embassy on Monday, according to Ugandan police.

Although authorities provided no details about how the rescue operation was carried out, a government spokesman said on Twitter that the kidnappers had taken their victims to Congo, where the two were rescued by the security forces.

Ugandan security teams had been hunting down gunmen who had demanded a $500,000 ransom after kidnapping the American and her Ugandan guide in a national park popular with tourists. There were conflicting reports Monday over whether a ransom was paid.

Ugandan police spokesman Fred Enanga told a news conference in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, that he did not believe a ransom had been paid.

But the New York Times, citing a tourism company official who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak, reported that Wild Frontiers -- the group that organized the safari itinerary -- paid a ransom. The amount was not specified.

Wild Frontiers has not responded to NBC News' repeated requests for comment.

Endicott and her driver were ambushed on April 2 in Queen Elizabeth National Park, a protected area near the porous border with Congo, according to Ugandan authorities. Endicott, who has a small skin care shop, is in her late 50s and has a daughter and granddaughter.

President Donald Trump tweeted that the pair had been released and added, "God bless them and their families!" On Monday, her urged Uganda to find the woman's kidnappers.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said at a Tuesday event for families of U.S. citizens held captive overseas that he understands some people want to do anything to get their loved ones back but paying ransom would just lead to more kidnappings.